The U.S. Department of Commerce officially relaxed export restrictions on advanced semiconductors Tuesday, opening a regulated pathway for Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) to resume sales of high-performance AI chips to China.
The new framework, published by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), shifts the federal stance from a "presumption of denial" to a case-by-case review process for Nvidia’s H200 and equivalent processors.
The policy shift follows months of intensive lobbying by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and a December agreement between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Under the new rules, "approved customers" in China may purchase the H200—Nvidia's second-most powerful chip—provided they pay a 25% government surcharge on each sale.
This fee, which flows directly to the U.S. Treasury, is framed by the administration as a "national security levy" that allows the U.S. to benefit economically from technology that was previously barred from the Chinese market.
To mitigate national security risks, the Commerce Department has instituted several unprecedented safeguards.